Muhammad Ali (actor)

Mohammad Ali ( ur, مُحمّد علی ; 19 April 1931 – 19 March 2006) was a Pakistani actor. He was known as ''Shahenshah-e-Jazbaat''
( ur, شہنشاہِ جذبات), meaning ''The Emperor of Emotions''.Remembering Mohammad Ali – the legend of Pakistani films
Daily Times (newspaper), 21 March 2018, Retrieved 8 May 2022 A versatile performer, he acted in dramatic, romantic, and historical movies. He was voted among 25 of the greatest actors of Asia in a 2010 CNN poll.

Early life

Mohammad Ali was born in Rampur, United Provinces, British India on 19 April 1931. He was the son of Maulana Syed Murshid Ali, who was an Islamic scholar. He was the youngest of two brothers and two sisters. After his birth the family migrated from Rampur to Rohtak, and from there to Hyderabad, finally settling in Multan shortly after the independence of Pakistan in 1947.

He attended the Millat High School, Multan. He further studied in Government Emerson College, Multan. In 1954, he moved to Hyderabad to pursue higher studies and obtained a BA from City College, Hyderabad.

Career

Start of career from Radio Pakistan

Muhammad Ali joined Radio Pakistan Hyderabad station as a broadcaster in 1956, where his elder brother Irshad was already working as a drama artist. After a while, he moved to the Bahawalpur radio station and eventually to Radio Pakistan, Karachi where its then Director General Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari became his mentor for his acting career.Mohammad Ali passes away
Dawn (newspaper), Published 20 March 2006, Retrieved 8 May 2022

Film career

Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari, Director General, Radio Pakistan introduced him to the film producer Fazal Ahmed Kareem Fazli.

So Mohammad Ali started his film career with Fazal Ahmad Karim Fazli's film ''Chiragh Jalta Raha (1962)''.
''Chiragh Jalta Raha'' was premiered by Fatima Jinnah on 9 March 1962 at Nishat Cinema, Karachi. He then appeared as a villain in director Munawwar Rasheed's film ''Bahadur'', director Iqbal Yusuf's film ''Daal Mein Kala'', and director Javed Hashmi's film ''Dil Ne Tujhay Maan Liya''. His first film as a hero was ''Mr. X'' but Movie ''Shararat (1963)'' was released earlier than film ''Mr. X''. Later, he moved to Lahore and worked in the movie ''Khandan'' (1964). But his breakthrough was from the film ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964). In 1989, he had an extended cameo in the Hindi film '' Clerk''.

Mohammad Ali was the lead actor and 'hero' in 94 films. His first lead actor movie was ''Shararat (1963)'' and his last movie as a lead actor was ''Aaj Ki Raat'' (1983). Another movie was ''Mohabbat ho to aisi'' (1989) and his last movie of his career was titled ''Dum Mast Qalander'' (1995).

Playback singers

Ali was most often voiced by Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi. Mehdi Hassan sang 115 songs for Ali in his 88 movies. Rushdi sang 100 songs in 57 movies for Ali. Masood Rana sang 34 songs for Ali in his 23 films. Others who provided their voice were Akhlaq Ahmed, Ghulam Abbas, Rajab Ali and Mujeeb Aalam.

Marriage to actress Zeba

Ali met Zeba the first time in 1962 during the filming of their debut film "Chirag Jalta Raha (1962)". The couple got married four years later during the filming of ''Tum mile pyar mila'' on 29 September 1966 and remained married until Ali's death in 2006.

They did not have any children together. However, Mohammad Ali legally adopted Samina, Zeba's daughter from her previous marriage, giving her the name Samina Ali.

Political and social activism

Mohammad Ali and his wife Zeba both had close relations with different political regimes in the country. He protested by putting up black dress in International Moscow Film Festival against India for holding 93,000 POWs after the 1971 war. In Nawaz Sharif's government, he also served as Cultural Minister and introduced new policies to improve the condition of Pakistani film Industry.

Ali-Zaib Foundation

Muhammad Ali along with Shahid Ali Zaidi founded Ali-Zaib Foundation in 1995 to help the Thalassemia patients. The foundation built hospitals in Sargodha, Sahiwal, Jhang, Gujranwala, Okara with Foundation's ''Head Office'' in Faisalabad.

Retirement from films and his death

After his retirement from films, when Mohammad Ali was asked in a television show about his disassociation from the films, he said: "The atmosphere in which I was accustomed to work for films and the way films are made now, have entirely changed, hence I called it quits."
He was very generous and warm towards his fans. One of the best Pashto poets Zahir Shah Zahir has dedicated all his poetry to Mohammad Ali which includes more than ten books. The poet used to visit his house and have long discussions about the social welfare of people and Pakistani society.

Mohammad Ali died on 19 March 2006 due to a heart attack in Lahore., on Pak Tribune website

Awards and recognition

He won 10 Nigar awards in his long film career starting from 1964 to 1984.
* Nigar Award for Best Supporting Actor in film ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor in film '' Kaneez'' (1965)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Aag Ka Darya'' (1966)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Saiqa'' (1968)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Insaan Aur Aadmi'' (1970)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor for ''Wehshi'' (1971)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor in film ''Aas'' (1973)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor for film ''Aaina Aur Soorat'' (1974)
* Nigar Award for Best Actor for film ''Haidar Ali'' (1978)
* Special Nigar Award in 1984 for films ''Doorian'' and ''Bobby''
* Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan

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